Automatic railroad whistle



Oct. 19, 1954 L. ELLIOTT AUTOMATIC RAILROAD WHISTLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 24, 1951 I I INVENTOR Y Lee EZZz'oZf BY [2141: mai/ ATTORNEYS Oct. 19, 1954 1.. ELLIOTT 2,392,311

AUTOMATIC RAILROAD WHISTLE Filed Jan. '24, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY WWZ;

ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 19, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC RAILROAD WHISTLE Lee Elliott, Bakersfield, Calif.

Application January 24, 1951, Serial No. 207,575

1 Claim. -1

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide an automatic railroad whistle of novel construction and function.

Another major object of the invention is to provide an automatic railroad whistle which is electrically actuated but mechanically controlled; the whistle being interposed in a circuit which includes a switch unit on the railroad engine, and said switch unit being controlled by mechanism in part on said engine and in part extending along the roadbed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a railroad whistle which is substantially foolproof, and positive in operation; a majority of the mechanism, including the source of electricity, being on the engine, which facilitates maintenance, testing, and servicing.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an automatic railroad signal assembly which includes an electric whistle or horn on the engine and another fixed at each crossing or the like; both of said whistles or horns being automatically placed in operation as the engine approaches each such crossing.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an automatic railroad whistle which is designed for ease and economy of manufacture and installation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a practical and reliable automatic railroad whistle, and one which is exceedingly efiective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure andrelative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing a road bed and engine thereon, together with the circuit arrangements for the electric whistles or horns.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the switch unit and its control mechanism as mounted on the engine and approaching one of the longitudinal cam rods as mounted in connection with the roadbed in position to actuate said mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the switch unit and its control mechanism; the latter being in its normally lowered position with the switch open.

Fig. 4 is a similar view, but in section, showing the control mechanism as raised by the longitudinal cam rod to close the switch.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the switch control arm, detached.

Referring now more particularly to the char- (Cl. ZOO-451.44)

acters of reference on the drawings, the present invention embodies an electric whistle or horn I mounted on a railroad engine 2; the rails of the roadbed being shown at 3, and the ties at 4.

A source of electricity, such as a battery 5, is carried on the engine 2, and a circuit connects between such battery and the electric whistle or horn I; the circuit including a positive lead 6 and a negative lead 1. A normally open switch, indicated generally at 8, is interposed in the positive lead 6; the switch 8 being adapted to be automatically closed, in the manner as will hereinafter appear, when the engine passes each whistle point.

Another switch 9 is connected to the main circuit by an auxiliary or parallel circuit ill; the switch 9 being manually operated and within reach of the engineer so that the electric whistle or horn l is under the engineers manual control, as well as under the control of the automatic mechanism now to be described.

The switch 8 is enclosed in a dielectric switch housing II, and includes therein a fixed switch block [2 and an opposed leaf spring l3 in spaced relation.

'A vertically movable switch block 14 which is normally lowered, as in Fig. 3, is adapted to be urged upwardly to engage between the switch block l2 and leaf spring [3 to close the switch; the block i2 and spring 13 being secured by suitable terminals to which ends of the positive lead 6 connect.

The dielectric switch housing H is supported adjacent but above the roadbed laterally out from one rail 3, as follows:

A rigid attachment bracket 15 is fixed to the main frame iii of the engine and depends there from, and a supporting arm I! is secured to and extends at an upward and outward slope from the lower end of the bracket l5; the arm l'l being insulated from the bracket, as at I8.

At its upper end the supporting arm I! includes a pedestal I9 to which the dielectric switch housing l I is fixed. I

A vertically swingable control arm 20 projects laterally outwardly from the lower end of the bracket l5, being hinged, as at 2|, for vertical swinging motion. The mounting flange 22 of the vertically swingable switch control arm 20 is secured, in dielectric relation to the bracket [5, by the insulating means [8.

A link 23 is pivotally connected between attachment ears 24 on top of the arm 20 intermediate its ends, and the lower end of the vertically movable switch block I4, whereby upon lowering of said arm the switch is opened, and upon raising of the arm the switch is closed.

The arm 20 is normally urged downwardly to a switch opening position by a helical compression spring 25 engaged between the bottom of the pedestal l9 and a locator nub 26 on said arm; the latter being guided, in its vertical swinging motion, and limited in its downward motion, as follows:

A guide finger 2! depends from the pedestal l9 through a slot 28 in the arm 20; there being a guide and stop tongue 29 which projects into the slot 28 and through a vertical slot 30 in the finger 21; the bottom portion of said finger 21 below the slot 30 forming a stop 3| which the tongue 29 normally engages.

At its outer end the arm 20 is fitted with a roller 32 which, at each whistle point, engages and rides a longitudinal cam rod 33 mounted in spaced relation laterally out from one rail 3 in a plane above but parallel to the same.

Each longitudinal cam rod 33 is down-curved at its lead end, as at 34, whereby to cam the roller 32 onto the rod 33 upon passage of the engine.

Ihe rod 33 is anchored at each end to ties 4, as at 35 and 36, while intermediate its ends the rod 33 is carried in cradles 31 on posts 38 supported from corresponding ties 4.

The anchors 35 and 36, together with the supports for the posts 38, are all insulated from the ties 4 in any suitable manner, as shown for example at 39 in Fig. 4.

The purpose of insulating the switch control arm 20 from the frame [8 of the engine, and the cam rod 33 from the roadbed or rails, will hereinafter appear.

As the engine passes each longitudinal cam rod 30 the roller 32 rides onto and along said rod, swinging the arm 20 upwardly, which causes the link 23 to thrust the switch block [4 upward to switch closing position. This closes the circuit comprised of the leads 6 and I, and the electric whistle or horn I is energized. In this manner such whistle or horn is effectively and positively brought into play each time the engine passes one of the cam rods 33; it being contemplated that such cam rods will be mounted on the roadbed in advance of each crossing, etc.

The invention thus provides a very practical and reliable automatic railroad signal.

At certain crossings or the like it may also be desired to employ a separate electric whistle or horn 40 mounted adjacent said crossing but under automatic control upon approach of the engine. This is accomplished as follows:

The separate electric whistle or horn 40 is provided with a circuit which includes a positive lead 4| connected to the corresponding cam rod 33, and a negative lead 42 grounded to one of the rails 3, as shown.

On the engine the negative lead 1 is grounded to the engine frame, as at 43. Consequently, when the switch control arm 20 rides the cam rod 33 a circuit is completed through the lead 6,

4 switch block Hi, link 23, arm 20, roller 32, and cam rod 33 to the positive lead 4|.

The other side of the circuit for the separate electric whistle or horn 40 is completed from the lead I to the ground 43; the lead 42 likewise being grounded. As a consequence, the separate electric whistle or horn 40 will automatically function upon approach of the engine, with such whistle or horn energized from the source of electricity 5 on said engine.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

A switch mechanism for the circuit of an electric railroad engine whistle comprising an upstanding bracket adapted to be mounted in a fixed position on one side of an engine, an arm projecting laterally from and pivoted on the bracket for up and down swinging movement, insulation means between the bracket and the pivotal connection of the arm therewith, a housing above the arm in which the switch is mounted, a pedestal supporting the housing from the bracket and insulated therefrom, the switch including horizontally spaced members one of which is a horizontally yieldable spring, and a vertically movable element movable upwardly between the members to slidably engage and maintain contact with said members upon upward movement of the element from a normal position below and clear of the members, an upstanding link connecting the arm and element, and spring means between the pedestal and arm yieldably maintaining the arm in a lowered position and the switch open.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 505,851 Russell Oct. 3, 1893 674,226 Untiedt May 14, 1901 1,098,943 Dunn June 2, 1914 1,265,974 Thornburg May 14, 1918 1,343,218 Mardis June 15, 1920 1,533,632 Butorac Apr. 14, 1925 1,775,300 Whitaker Sept. 9, 1930 1,853,472 Stemen Apr. 12, 1932 1,873,698 Curas et al Aug. 23, 1932 2,528,124 Elliott Oct. 31, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 146,690 Great Britain July 15,1920 

